"There ain't but two things in music: good and bad. Now if it sounds good, you don't worry what it is. You're just gonna enjoy it." -- Louis Armstrong

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

THE DIVINE ONE - SARAH VAUGHAN

YEAR: 1961LABEL: RouletteTRACK LISTING: Have You Met Miss Jones?, Ain't No Use, Every Time I See You, You Stepped Out of a Dream, Gloomy Sunday, What Do You See In Her?, Jump For Joy, When Your Lover Has Gone, I'm Gonna Laugh You Out of My Life, Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams, Somebody Else's Dream, Trouble Is A ManIMPRESSIONS: More Sassy so soon? You can never have too much Sarah Vaughan. This is an intimate sounding album with Sassy backed by a small trio of piano, trumpet and drums only and beautifully represents the pared-down sound she established once she moved to the Roulette label. This is only the second album she made during that brief but important portion of her career; her first Roulette album "DREAMY" sadly remains unissued on cd as is the case with the criminally un-reissued "SNOWBOUND" album! I first encountered some of these tracks on a 1991 compilation cd called "SARAH VAUGHAN THE ROULETTE YEARS VOLUMES ONE & TWO" which cherry-picked songs from her three-year stint at the label. The floating head on the album cover gives a sense of the quieter aspect of Sarah's Roulette work as the listener imagines the singer with her small trio ensconced in the solitude of the recording studio laying down track after track of superb jazz standards; although many of the selections here are lesser-known songs -- even those by such well-known songwriters as Rodgers & Hart, Nacio Herb Brown & Gus Kahn, Hal David or Duke Ellington. This is an album perfect for anytime: late-night quietude or sunny afternoon spring-cleaning listening! Although I must admit I can never hear "Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams" without immediately thinking of the famous Bing Crosby blooper!MY FAVOURITE TRACKS: Have You Met Miss Jones?, Ain't No Use, You Stepped Out of a Dream, Gloomy Sunday, Jump For Joy, I'm Gonna Laugh You Out of My Life, Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams, Somebody Else's Dream, Trouble Is A ManFACT SHEET: THE DIVINE ONE is Sarah Vaughan's 16th album (more or less, it's difficult to gauge these things) and her second album for the Roulette label. Sarah is accompanied by the trio of Jimmy Jones (piano, arranger), Harry "Sweets" Edison (trumpet) and Don Lamond (drums).

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MISSION STATEMENT

Here in the Dark Forest we will reach under a pile of leaves (almost) every day and pull out a favourite album to listen to. These will not be reviews per se but will feature facts, track lists and personal impressions on much-loved albums.

I strongly hope that you will leave comments relating your personal impressions and experiences related to the albums featured here. The only thing better than talking about music is listening to the music itself and I'd love to hear how this music affects you as well. So please let's hear from you.

ONE SMALL NOTE ON THE TERM "ALBUM"

This is, in fact, the correct term. An "album" does not mean a vinyl record; that term would be "record" or "LP". The term "album" means "an album of songs" in the same way as a "photo album" is "an album of photos". The definition of the word "album" means a collection of songs regardless of the medium on which it is presented. An album can be on vinyl, tape, compact disc or computer file but still remains an "album". Originally the term "album" came from the days of 78 rpm records: several records would be packaged together inside a book-shaped "album" with individual sleeves where you would slide out each record to play. With the advent of 33 1/3 rpm records (the first ever LP being Frank Sinatra's IN THE WEE SMALL HOURS) all the songs from the 78 rpm package were grouped together on one 33 1/3rd rpm LP which continued to use the word "album" even after this first change in format. That is why this blog will use that term.